Gyros and similar cone-shaped meat products, and the vertical rotisserie broilers used to cook such meat products, are well-known in the art. Such rotisserie broilers are typically constructed of a metal housing with an open end; two or more electric- or gas-powered burners, disposed on opposite sides of the housing; a vertical spit within the confines of the metal housing, for holding the meat to be cooked; and a motor for rotating the spit, to ensure even cooking of the meat.
After the gyros or other cone-shaped meat has been cooked, it is typically sliced off of the cone by the user. This creates some potential safety issues, as the burners used in vertical rotisserie broilers can reach 800° F. or more. This heat is adequate to cause second degree burns on a user who finds his hands or arms unacceptably close to those burners.
Prior art vertical rotisserie broilers known to the applicant have no provisions for moving the spit outwardly. Instead, some prior art broilers of this general type include means for moving the spit inwardly, i.e., away from the opening of the housing and towards a burner that is typically positioned near the back wall. Preferably, to the extent possible, the gyros cone should be positioned at a uniform distance from the burner. In order to ensure this, such prior art broilers include provisions for moving the spit towards the burner so as to move the gyros cone closer to that burner. In this way, these prior art broilers can accommodate gyros cones that are of various sizes, or gyros cones that are initially large in diameter, but become smaller in diameter as they are progressively cut and served.
Typical prior art vertical and other rotisserie broilers include those shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,512,248; 4,979,439; 5,910,332; U.S. Pat. No. Des 245,566; and many of the other patents disclosed and cited in these four patents.